1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a battery module that includes a battery module housing that is segregated into individual cavities, and each cavity is configured to receive a single electrode cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
Battery packs provide power for various technologies ranging from portable electronics to renewable power systems and environmentally friendly vehicles. For example, hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) use a battery pack and an electric motor in conjunction with a combustion engine to increase fuel efficiency. Battery packs are formed of a plurality of battery modules, where each battery module includes several electrochemical cells. The cells may be arranged in two or three dimensional arrays and are electrically connected in series or in parallel. Likewise, the battery modules within a battery pack are electrically connected in series or in parallel.
Different cell types have emerged in order to deal with the space requirements of a very wide variety of installation situations, and the most common types used in automobiles are cylindrical cells, prismatic cells, and pouch cells. Regardless of cell type, each cell includes a cell housing and an electrode assembly disposed in the cell housing. With respect to the cell housing, the cylindrical cells and prismatic cells each have a rigid housing, usually made of metal or plastic, which seals off the actual battery space from the environment. In contrast, the pouch cell includes a flexible housing made of a metal foil laminate material.
Although battery packs are used in fully electric vehicles and HEVs, challenges remain for improving the energy density, and reducing mass, complexity and costs of the battery packs. In addition, it remains difficult to integrate battery packs into existing internal combustion engine vehicle designs.